Underlayment Tile and Method of Laying a Modular Surface Covering System

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for laying a modular surface covering system on a surface to the covered and an underlayment element for use in such a method and modular surface covering system. The underlayment element includes a planar base with a raised edge along two interconnected sides of the underlayment element. First coupling elements in the form of recesses are provided along the two sides with the raised edge and second coupling elements in the form of protruding tongues are provided along the other two interconnected sides. The finishing layer elements are clamped between raised edges of coupled underlayment elements. The top surface of a raised edge between finishing layer element provides the grout effect. The underlayment elements enables one to lay a surface covering system with a multitude of pattern, e.g. as grid pattern, brickwork pattern, herringbone pattern, etc.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to The Netherlands Patent ApplicationNo. 2028782 filed Jul. 19, 2021, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The subject disclosure relates to floor system technology and moreparticularly to underlayment tiles for a modular surface covering systemand methods of laying a modular surface covering system usingunderlayment tiles.

Description of Related Art

Modular floor systems having tiles with an interlocking structure areknown in the prior art. For example, WO2013/117653A2 and WO2020/254192Adiscloses a floor tile comprising a base substrate and a laminate layer.The base substrate comprises a top layer with a laminate receiver on atop surface thereof and a bottom layer with connecting means forengaging with connection means of a base substrate of a further tile toform an interconnected flooring system. The top layer of the basesubstrate extends over connection means on at least one side of the basesubstrate. The laminate layer is bonded to the base substrate. Edges ofthe laminate receiver of two adjacent floor tiles provide a grout effectfor the tiles when connected.

WO2010/144631 discloses a tray substrate having a tray substrate surfacewith vertical tray edges. The tray edges protrude upward and extendaround a perimeter of the tray substrate surface. The tray surfacereceives a flooring component.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,731B1 discloses a floor structure unit comprising: atray, a flooring material, a rubber grommet, and a rubber matrix. Thetray includes an upper and lower horizontal surface, at least oneretaining wall, a first and a second set of contrapositive interlockingmembers. The flooring material is disposed on the tray upper horizontalsurface such that the first set of interlocking members is substantiallyflush with the flooring material and the second set of interlockingmembers extends beyond the flooring material. The rubber matrix isdisposed in the tray lower horizontal surface, and the rubber grommet isdisposed about the perimeter of the at least one retaining wall. Therubber grommet and the rubber matrix are a unitary piece. The tray, therubber matrix, the flooring material and the rubber grommet 24 of thefloor structure unit 10 are attached using an adhesive or glue.

NL1013699C2 discloses an underfloor comprising an insulating layer witha mesh for setting or laying tiles. The mesh lands form a regular orirregular pattern of at least one polygonal openings. Separate strips ofunderfloor can be laid against each other by means of a complementaryconnecting system. The connecting system prevents shifting the stripstransversely to the longitudinal direction of the strips.

IT201700018094A1 discloses a flooring composed of prefabricated modularelements that are easily laid and interchangeable. A modular elementcomprises a base part provided with at least two perimeter edges, whichperimeter edges have mutually complementary profiles. Making it possibleto couple two floor elements together ensuring that they do not sliderelative to each other, thanks to the interaction exerted by thecomplementarity of the profiles.

US20040139679A1 discloses a paving system for tiles, especiallyflagstones, for paving ceilings, walls, or floors, in which each tile isprovided with a paving frame on which the tile rests over at least partof its area. The paving frames comprise, on each of two adjacent(intersecting) limbs, a fin for the accommodation of a rubber-elasticsealing profile that defines the width of the seam.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved underlaymenttile. The improved underlayment tile provides at least one of thefollowing advantages: more flexibility to compose a flooring system,ease of laying a flooring system, the durable flooring system, removableand reusable, providing a waterproof floor covering, less stock neededto lay flooring systems with a diversity of tiles, laying tiles indifferent patterns.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by an underlaymenttile for a modular surface covering system on a surface to be coveredhaving the features as described herein. Advantageous embodiments andfurther ways of carrying out the invention may be attained by themeasures mentioned in the dependent claims.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided aparallelogram-shaped underlayment element according to the subjectdisclosure comprises:

an essentially planar base with a support surface at its top sideconfigured to support a parallelogram-shaped finishing layer element,the support surface having a perimeter corresponding to aparallelogram-shaped finishing layer element:

a raised edge along two interconnected sides of the support surface, theraised edge having a width defining a distance betweenparallelogram-shaped finishing elements when placed next to each other;and,

a coupling structure at a bottom side of the underlayment element forreleasably coupling parallelogram-shaped underlayment elements. Thecoupling structure comprises first coupling elements located along thetwo interconnected sides with the raised edge and second couplingelements located along the other two interconnected sides of the supportsurface. The first coupling elements are connectable to second couplingelements of an adjacent underlayment element. The first couplingelements are located inside the perimeter defined by the support surfaceof the planar base. The second coupling elements are located outside theperimeter defined by the support surface, wherein the first couplingelements are recesses and the second coupling elements are protrudingtongues, wherein the protruding tongues along a side of the underlaymenttile have an outer circumference which corresponds with an innercircumference of the recesses along the opposite side of theunderlayment tile, wherein a recess/protruding tongue can be coupled toa protruding tongue/recess of another underlayment element by a movementperpendicular to the planar base,

wherein each side of the underlayment element is composed of a pluralityof adjacent uniform edge sections corresponding to the number ofrecesses or protruding tongues along said side.

The concept of the invention is based on the desire to cover an evensurface, such as a floor and wall, with tiles that can subsequently beeasily removed and whose removed parts can be reused to cover anothereven surface. Key of the invention is the used of underlayment tiles onwhich easily a finishing tiles can be placed. By laying the finishingtile with two sides against a raised edge along two interconnected sidesof the underlayment tile, the finishing tile is aligned. By couplinganother underlayment tile to the underlayment tile on which a finishingtile is placed, the finishing tile is fixed by clamping the finishingtile between the raised edge of the underlayment tile on which thefinishing tile is placed and the raised edge of the another underlaymenttile that is coupled. In this way, no adhesive is needed to fix afinishing tile. Furthermore, since no adhesive is used, by removingunderlayment tiles that are coupled to the second coupling elements ofan underlayment tile, the finishing tile that is placed on top caneasily be taken from the underlayment tile. By having recesses in thebottom surface and corresponding protruding tongues, an underlaymentelement may be coupled simultaneous to two adjacent underlaymentelements, by positioning the recesses above the protruding tongues ofthe two adjacent underlayment elements forming a corner to position theraised edge of the underlayment element to be positioned andsubsequently moving said underlayment element perpendicular to the planeof the supporting surface to fix the protruding tongues in the recesses.The protruding tongues on opposite sides are equally spaced along thesides with a distance corresponding to the length of a side divided bythe number of tongues/recesses along said side. This feature enables tolay tiles not only in a grid pattern but also in other patterns, e.g.brickwork pattern, stretcher bond pattern. This feature also enables touse tiles with different dimensions in a modular floor system.

In an embodiment, the top surface of the raised edge of an underlaymentelement closes the distance between neighbouring finishing layerelements. In this way, the raised edge between two finishing tilesprovides a seal between the two finishing tiles at the top of the seal.This reduces the chance that moisture or dirt present on top of thefloor will sink between the raised edge and the finishing tile.

In an embodiment, a cross section of the top surface of the raised edgeof an underlayment element has a concave shape. As a result, dirt andmoisture will first accumulate in the middle part of the top of theraised edge. As long as no dirt and/or moisture accumulates at thetransition from top surface of the raised to a side of the finishingtile, no dirt and/or moisture can accumulate between side wall of theraised edge and side wall of a finishing tile abutting said raised edge.

In an embodiment, the raised edge is wider at the top than at thebottom. This feature improves the sealing quality of the raised edge asthe resilient material as the upper part of the resilient material thatmakes up the raised edge is squeezed more between two finishing tilesthan the lower part of the raised edge.

In an embodiment, the side of the raised edge facing away from thesupport surface leans forward. These features improve the sealingquality of the raised edge between adjacent finishing tiles.

In an embodiment, the side of ends of the raised edge leans outwards.This feature improves the sealing quality between the end side wall of araised edge of an underlayment tile and a side wall of a raised edge ofanother underlayment tile coupled to said underlayment tile.

In another further embodiment, a protruding tongue comprises a firstretaining structure and a recess comprises a second retaining structure,the first retaining structure and the second retaining structure areconfigured engage when a protruding tongue is pushed in a recess. Whencoupling two underlayment tiles of a modular flooring system, therecesses of an underlayment tile to be positioned are positioned abovethe tongues of an already laid underlayment tile. Then the underlaymenttile to be positioned is pushed down, a tongue is pushed in acorresponding recess. The retaining structures prevent the tongue fromslipping out of the recess so easily. In an embodiment of the retainingstructures, the first retaining structure is a ridge or a groove and thesecond retaining structure has a structure complementary to the firstretaining structure.

In an embodiment, the second coupling elements have a top surface with achamfered edge and edges of the bottom surface of the essentially planarbase that define the perimeter of the first coupling elements arechamfered. These features facilitate the insertion of a tongue into arecess when before joining two underlayment tiles the tongues are notaccurately aligned with the recesses. Furthermore, as a finishing tilehas to be clamped between the raised edges of two adjacent underlaymenttiles, when an underlayment tile with its recesses is placed on thetongues of the adjacent underlayment tile on which a finishing tile ispositioned, tension will build up in the elastic material of thetongues. This additional tension together with the tension in thematerial of the raised edges, causes the finishing tile to remainclamped between the raised edges. This method of securing the finishingtile further has the advantage of providing improved noise reductionwhen walking on the modular surface covering system.

In an embodiment, the underlayment element is made resilient plastic.The underlayment element according to the subject technology may be usedfor covering a floor or a wall. The parallelogram-shaped finishingelement may have a shape which is one selected from a group consistingof: rhomboid, rectangle, rhombus and square. The present subjecttechnology may be used to lay a modular surface covering system with atleast one of the following patterns: grid pattern, brickwork pattern,herringbone pattern or a combination thereof.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for laying a modular surface covering system on a surface to becovered with the use of parallelogram-shaped underlayment elementsdescribed above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, properties and advantages will be explainedhereinafter based on the following description with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like or comparableparts, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a first embodiment of anunderlayment element from above;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the first embodiment frombelow;

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a bottom view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross sectional view of modular surface coveringsystem with underlayment elements according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a second embodiment of anunderlayment element from above;

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the second embodiment frombelow;

FIG. 8 illustrates a cross sectional view of modular surface coveringsystem with underlayment elements according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of a third embodiment of anunderlayment element from above;

FIG. 10 illustrates a perspective view of the third embodiment frombelow;

FIG. 11 illustrates a side view of the third embodiment;

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate the clamping of a finishing layer element;

FIG. 13 illustrates a top view of a grout effect obtained with the firstand second embodiment;

FIG. 14 illustrates a top view of a grout effect obtained with the thirdembodiment;

FIGS. 15A-15H illustrate a first embodiment of a method for laying amodular surface covering system;

FIG. 16 illustrates a part of a second embodiment of a modular surfacecovering system;

FIG. 17 illustrates a part of a third embodiment of a modular surfacecovering system;

FIG. 18 illustrates a part of a fourth embodiment of a modular surfacecovering system;

FIG. 19 illustrates a perspective view from below of an underlaymentelement with a groove pattern in the bottom surface; and,

FIG. 20 illustrates a perspective view from above of the underlaymentelement in FIG. 19 .

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

When used in this description the expressions “horizontal”, “vertical”,“upper”, “lower” and similar expressions refer to directions in normaluse of an underlayment element.

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a first embodiment of an underlayment element 100for laying a modular surface covering system on a surface to be covered.A surface in the context of the present application may be a floor, awall, inside or outside a building. The surface to be covered must havea contact surface even or smooth enough to carry or support the modularsurface covering system. The contact surface may be flat or with asmoothly curved, horizontal, vertical or slanted. Thus the surface to becovered may have some dents as long as the area of the dents isrelatively small in relation to the dimensions of an underlaymentelement. The underlayment element comprises an essentially planar base102 and a raised edge 106.

The planar base 102 comprises a support surface 104 at its top sideconfigured to support a parallelogram-shaped finishing layer element 150positioned on the underlayment element, and a coupling structure at abottom side along the four sides of the planar base. The support surfacehas a perimeter corresponding to a parallelogram-shaped finishing layerelement. The perimeter is defined by the dimensions of theparallelogram-shaped finishing layer element supported by the supportsurface 104. In the first embodiment, the perimeter forms a square.However, the perimeter and parallelogram-shaped finishing layer elementmay also have the form of a rhomboid, rectangle or rhombus.

The coupling structure at the bottom side of the underlayment element isconfigured for releasably coupling parallelogram-shaped underlaymentelements. The coupling structure comprises first coupling elements 110located along two interconnected sides 108A, 108B with the raised edge106. Second coupling elements 112 are located along the other twointerconnected sides of the support surface 104. The first couplingelements are connectable to second coupling elements of an adjacentunderlayment element of a modular surface covering system. Seen in adirection perpendicular to the support surface, the first couplingelements 110 are located inside the perimeter defined by the supportsurface 104 of the planar base. Seen in a direction perpendicular to thesupport surface, the second coupling elements 1102 are located outsidethe part of the planar base 102 defined by the perimeter of the supportsurface 104.

The first coupling elements 110 are recesses in the bottom surface ofthe planar base 102. The second coupling elements 112 are protrudingtongues. The protruding tongues 112 along a side of the underlaymenttile have an outer circumference which corresponds with an innercircumference of the recesses along the opposite side of theunderlayment tile. Two underlayment elements may be coupled bypositioning one or more recesses forming first coupling elements of anunderlayment element to be positioned above corresponding tonguesforming second coupling elements of an already positioned underlaymentelement. Subsequently, the underlayment element to be positioned ismoved downward such that one or more protruding tongues are pushed inthe corresponding recesses. “Move downward” or “push downward” in thecontext of the present description means in a direction perpendicular tothe support surface 104 of the underlayment element.

To improve the locking of a protruding tongue 112 in a recess 110, aprotruding tongue comprises a first retaining structure 116 and a recesscomprises a second retaining structure 114. The first retainingstructure and the second retaining structure are configured to engagewhen a protruding tongue is pushed in a recess. The first retainingstructure is a ridge or a groove and the second retaining structure hasa structure complementary to the first retaining structure. Theretaining structures are located about half-way the height of a tongueand half-way the depth of a recess and reduce the likelihood of tonguesslipping out of corresponding recesses in a direction perpendicular tothe support surface or bottom surface of the planar base 102.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the protruding tongues 112have a bevelled or rounded top edge 120 and the recesses 110 have abevelled or rounded bottom edge 118. In other words, the second couplingelements 112 have a top surface with a chamfered edge 120 and edges ofthe bottom surface of the essentially planar base 102 that define theperimeter of the first coupling elements 110 are chamfered. The bevelledor rounded bottom edge 118 and chamfered edge 102 facilitate insertionof protruding tongues in recesses.

The raised edge 106 is located along two interconnected sides 108A, 108Bof the support surface provided with the first coupling elements. Theraised edge 106 forms an L-shape. The raised edge has a width which willdefine a distance between parallelogram-shaped finishing elements whenplaced next to each other and placed on underlayment elements.

The planar base 102 comprises a through hole 130 in the middle of thesupport surface 104. Vapour coming out of the material below theunderlayment elements can escape to the air above the laminar finishingelement 150 positioned on the support surface 104. Similarly, moisturethat settles along the raised edge 106 and laminar finishing element 150can through the through hole 130 temporarily be absorbed by the materialbelow the underlayment element 100.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the shape of the side ends 106A, 106C of the L-shapedraised edge 106. The side ends 106A and 106C are point-shaped. The angle106B formed by the two legs of the L-shaped raised edge is bevelled.

The underlayment element 100 is formed from an engineered plasticsmaterial such as injection moulded high-density polyethylene, which willadvantageously provide a degree of resilience. Of course, it should beunderstood that other production methods and materials might be usedwithout departing from the scope of the present application. Forexample, a mixture of plastic pellets and shredded recycled packaging,e.g. beverage containers, can be used. The underlayment element 100 iscomposed of one piece of material that includes the planar base 102 withrecesses forming the first coupling structure, the protruding tonguesforming the second coupling structure, and raised edge 106.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross sectional view of modular surface coveringsystem with underlayment elements according to the first embodiment. Afinishing element 150 is positioned tightly between the raised edge 106on which the finishing element 105 placed and the raised edge 106 of acoupled adjacent underlayment element. The top surface of the raisededge 106 of an underlayment element closes the distance betweenneighbouring finishing layer elements 150. Thus only raised edge 106provides the grout effect between adjacent finishing layer elements 150.The top surface of the raised edge forming the grout effect between twoadjacent finishing layer elements may be concave, convex, V-shape or ofany other suitable shape.

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate a second embodiment of an underlayment tile 200.The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that itcomprises an upstanding edge 222 along the sides of the support surface204 having the protruding tongues 212. The height of the upstanding edge222 is less than the height of the raised edge along the sides of thesupport surface 204 along which the recesses 210 are located. The upperpart of the raised edge 206 is wider than the upstanding edge 222.Furthermore, the raised edge 206 has longitudinal recessed area in itsoutward facing surface to receive the upstanding edge 222 of an adjacentunderlayment element 200. In FIG. 8 can be seen that the upstanding edge222 fits in the recessed area and that the outward facing surface abovethe longitudinal recessed area is aligned with the inward facing surfaceof the upstanding edge 222 of the adjacent underlayment element. In thisway, moisture from above is forced to pass over the support surface 204and via the through hole to the material below the underlayment element200 and not between abutting surfaces of two adjacent underlaymentelements.

FIGS. 9-11 illustrate a third embodiment of an underlayment element.This embodiment differs from the first embodiment by the shape of theraised edge 306. The raised edge is wider at the top than at the bottomof the raised edge. In the present embodiment, the inward facing side ofthe raised edge is perpendicular to the support surface and the outwardfacing side of the raised edge leans forward. Furthermore, the outwardfacing side 330 of the raised edge 306 forms a straight angle 306B wherethe two legs of the raised edge join. Also the sides 332 of the endsides 306A, 306C lean forward. FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate theadvantage of the forward leaning sides. FIG. 12A shows the case whereintwo adjacent underlayment element are at a small distance from eachother. It can be seen that the gap between the raised edge 330 and thefinishing layer element 150 narrows upwards. It can further be seen thatthe end 306A of the raised edge on which the finishing layer element 150is positioned, protrudes outwards. When the underlayment elements arecoupled, as shown in FIG. 12B outwards facing side 330 is pushed againstthe side of the finishing layer element and the slanted side of the end306A to form a sealing. The material in the top part of the raised edge306 is compressed more than the bottom part. Consequently, the sealingis the best at the top. By compression of the raised edge, the finishinglayer element 150 is clamped along all sides between raised edges ofunderlayment elements. A recess forming the first coupling elements andprotruding tongue forming the second coupling elements of the planarbase 302 are indicated by reference 310 and 312, respectively.

Furthermore, as the finishing layer element is clamped between theraised edges of two adjacent underlayment tiles, when an underlaymenttile with its recesses is placed on the tongues of the adjacentunderlayment tile on which a finishing tile is already positioned,tension will build up in the elastic material of the T-like protrudingtongues 312. A part of the tension will be in the stem of a T-liketongues in the form of tensile stress and a part of the tension will bein the in the side branches of the T-like tongues in the form of bendingstress. This additional tension together with the tension in thematerial of the raised edges 306, causes the finishing layer element 150to remain clamped between the raised edges. This method of securing thefinishing tile further has the advantage of providing improved noisereduction when walking on the modular surface covering system.

FIG. 13 illustrates a top view of a grout effect obtained with the firstand second embodiment. It can be seen that when the underlaymentelements are coupled to form a grouting cross, one of the two surface ofpoint-shaped end 106A is pushed against one of the two surfaces ofpoint-shaped end 106C. The other surfaces of end 106A and 106C arepushed against the bevelled outward facing side of angle 106B of theraised edge 106.

FIG. 14 illustrates a top view of a grout effect obtained with the thirdembodiment. It can be seen that when underlayment elements are coupledto form a grouting cross, the flat outward leaning sides of the ends306A and 306C are pushed against the outward facing sides of the raisededge at the joint of the two legs forming the L shape.

FIGS. 15A-15H illustrate a first embodiment of a method for laying amodular surface covering system. The method for laying a modular surfacecovering system on a surface to be covered comprises the actions:

providing a multitude of parallelogram-shaped finishing layer elements150, 152, 154, 156;

providing a multitude of parallelogram-shaped underlayment elements360,362, 364, 366;

placing a first underlayment element on the surface to be covered (FIG.15A);

placing a first parallelogram-shaped finishing layer element on thesupport surface and with two sides against the raised edge of the firstunderlayment element (FIG. 15B);

coupling at least one first coupling element of a second underlaymentelement 362 to corresponding second coupling elements 312 of the firstunderlayment element 360, causing the first parallelogram-shapedfinishing layer element 150 to be clamped between the raised edge of thefirst underlayment element 360 and the raised edge of the secondunderlayment element 362 9 FIG. 15C);

placing a second parallelogram-shaped finishing layer element 152 on thesupport surface and width two sides against the raised edge of thesecond underlayment element (FIG. 15D);

coupling at least one first coupling element of a third underlaymentelement 364 to corresponding second coupling elements the firstunderlayment element 360, causing the first parallelogram-shapedfinishing layer element 150 to be clamped between the raised edge of thefirst underlayment element and the raised edge of the third underlaymentelement (FIG. 15E);

placing a third parallelogram-shaped finishing layer element (on thesupport surface and with two sides against the raised edge of the secondunderlayment element (FIG. 15F);

coupling at least one first coupling element of a fourth underlaymentelement 366 to corresponding second coupling elements of the secondunderlayment element 362 and third underlayment element 364, causing thesecond parallelogram-shaped finishing layer element 152 to be clampedbetween the raised edge of the second underlayment element 362 and theraised edge of the fourth underlayment element 364 and causing the thirdparallelogram-shaped finishing layer element 154 to be clamped betweenthe raised edge of the third underlayment element 164 and the raisededge of the fourth underlayment element 166 (FIG. 15G); and,

placing a fourth parallelogram-shaped finishing layer element 156 on thesupport surface and width two sides against the raised edge of thefourth underlayment element 366.

The thus obtained modular surface covering system forms floor whereinthe finishing layer elements form a grid pattern. It should be notedthat the method described above may also be used for the first andsecond embodiments of the underlayment elements.

The third embodiment of the underlayment elements has an advantage overthe first and second embodiment. The third embodiment of underlaymentelements allows the finishing layer elements to be laid in a patternother than the grid pattern. This is the case when the recesses and theprotruding tongues on opposite sides are equally spaced along the sideswith a distance corresponding to the length of a side divided by thenumber of tongues/recesses along said side such that a side of thecoupling structure is divided in corresponding sections. Each sectionalong a side has an equivalent shape. In other words: each side of theunderlayment element is composed of a plurality of adjacent uniform edgesections corresponding to the number of recesses or protruding tonguesalong said side. The length of a side of an underlayment element is thesum of the length of the corresponding side of the support surface andthe width of the raised edge at the level of the support surface. Thelength of an edge section is the length of the side of an underlaymentelement divided by the number of recesses/protruding tongues along saidside. The most left recess on a side of an underlayment element may becoupled to any of the protruding tongues on a side of anotherunderlayment element. FIG. 16 illustrates a part of a second embodimentof a modular surface covering system wherein the finishing layerelements will form a brickwork pattern. The order of laying theunderlayment elements is: first underlayment element 1602, secondlyunderlayment element 1604, thirdly underlayment element 1606 and finallyunderlayment element 1608. When laying an underlayment element a personhas to take care that all recesses of the side(s) of the underlaymentelement being placed has to be coupled with a protruding tongue ofalready laid underlayment elements. It should be noted that theunderlayment elements may also be placed in the order 1602, 1606, 1604and 1608.

FIG. 17 illustrates a part of a third embodiment of a modular surfacecovering system, in which rectangular finishing layer elements andsquared finishing layer element are used. The order of laying theunderlayment elements may be 1702, 1704, 1706, 1708, 1710 and 1712. Inprinciple, a finishing layer element of any length and width can beused. The length of a side and the number of protruding tongues/recessesdefines the dimensions of a coupling element, especially the width andcontour of a repetitive part comprising a tongue/recess along a side andthus the spacing between two neighbouring coupling elements along aside. The finishing layer elements form a brickwork pattern.

FIG. 18 illustrates a part of a fourth embodiment of a modular surfacecovering system. In this embodiment the finishing layer elements havethe shape of a rhomboid. Columns formed by finishing layer elements arelaid offset by one coupling element from each other.

All previous embodiments of a modular surface covering system which usesonly finishing layer elements with the same dimensions require only onetype of underlayment element. To form a modular surface covering systemwith a herringbone pattern, two different underlayment elements arerequired. For the first type when looking at the inward facing surfaceof the raised edge, at the left side of the joint between the legs ofthe raised edge is the long side of the underlayment element and at theright side of the joint is the short side of the underlayment element.For the second type when looking at the inward facing surface of theraised edge, at the left side of the joint between the legs of theraised edge is the short side of the underlayment element and at theright side of the joint is the long side of the underlayment element.

The described technology can also be used for rhombus shaped finishinglayer elements.

The technology described above does not require that the finishing layerelements be bonded to the top surface of the underlayment elements withan adhesive. Furthermore, the material to be used for the finishinglayer element is not limited to stone, wood, plastic, laminate,concrete, ceramics, material obtained by injection moulding of a mixtureof recycled particles.

A characteristic of the underlayment elements according the presentsubject technology is that opposite sides have mutually cooperatingprotruding tongues and recesses. However, the dimension and shape of themutually cooperating protruding tongues and recesses along firstopposite sides and along second opposite sides may differ.

FIG. 19 illustrates a perspective view from below of an underlaymentelement with a groove pattern 1960 in the bottom surface with ridges1962 between the grooves. The groove pattern comprises grooves 1960A,1960B along the midlines of the bottom surface of the planar base part,groove 1960C, 1960D along the diagonals of the bottom surface, andcurved grooves 1960A around the through hole in the middle of the planarbase part of the underlayment element 1900. The groove pattern has asilencing effect for sound generated by walking over the floor.Furthermore the grooves facilitate vapour from the underground below theunderlayment element to flow through the grooves and the through hole tothe space above the underlayment element.

FIG. 20 illustrates a perspective view from above of the underlaymentelement in FIG. 19 . The underlayment element further comprisesadditional through holes 1970 at the corners of the support surface 1902to facilitate vapour to move from below the underlayment element tospace above the underlayment element.

In the embodiment of underlayment elements, the protruding tongues andrecesses have a perimeter which is mushroom-shaped. However, othershapes are suitable shapes may be used, e.g. dovetail joint. In anotherembodiment, the recess is a U-shaped groove with the ends of the legsdirecting outwards and the protruding tongue has a correspondingU-shaped that fits in the U-shaped groove.

It is clear to the skilled person that a underlayment element accordingto the subject technology that lies in the middle of a floor coveringsystem is relatively easy to replace if damaged. The sides with thefirst coupling structure of the underlayment element to be replacedshould be loosened by pulling it up. And when the underlayment elementslying on the tongues of the underlayment element to be replaced havealso been loosened by pulling them upwards, the underlayment element tobe replaced can be removed.

While the invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,it is contemplated that alternatives, modifications, permutations andequivalents thereof will become apparent to those skilled in the artupon reading the specification and upon study of the drawings. Theinvention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. Changes can bemade without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

1. A parallelogram-shaped underlayment element for a modular surfacecovering system, the underlayment element comprises: an essentiallyplanar base with a support surface at its top side configured to supporta parallelogram-shaped finishing layer element, the support surfacehaving a perimeter corresponding to an parallelogram-shaped finishinglayer element; a raised edge along two interconnected sides of thesupport surface, the raised edge having a width defining a distancebetween parallelogram-shaped finishing elements when placed next to eachother; and, a coupling structure at a bottom side of the underlaymentelement for releasably coupling parallelogram-shaped underlaymentelements, the coupling structure comprising first coupling elementslocated along the two interconnected sides with the raised edge andsecond coupling elements located along the other two interconnectedsides of the support surface, first coupling elements are connectable tosecond coupling elements of an adjacent underlayment element, the firstcoupling elements being located inside the perimeter defined by thesupport surface of the planar base, and the second coupling elementsbeing located outside the perimeter defined by the support surface,wherein the first coupling elements are recesses and the second couplingelements are protruding tongues wherein the protruding tongues along aside of the underlayment tile have an outer circumference whichcorresponds with an inner circumference of the recesses along theopposite side of the underlayment tile, wherein a recess/protrudingtongue can be coupled to a protruding tongue/recess of anotherunderlayment element by a movement perpendicular to the planar base,wherein each side of the underlayment element is composed of a pluralityof adjacent uniform edge sections corresponding to the number ofrecesses or protruding tongues along said side.
 2. Theparallelogram-shaped underlayment element according to claim 1, whereinthe recesses and the protruding tongues on opposite sides are equallyspaced along the sides with a distance corresponding to the length of aside divided by the number of tongues/recesses along said side.
 3. Theparallelogram-shaped underlayment element according to claim 1, whereina protruding tongue comprises a first retaining structure and a recesscomprises a second retaining structure, the first retaining structureand the second retaining structure are configured engage when aprotruding tongue is pushed in a recess.
 4. The parallelogram-shapedunderlayment element according to claim 3, wherein the first retainingstructure is a ridge or a groove and the second retaining structure hasa structure complementary to the first retaining structure.
 5. Theparallelogram-shaped underlayment element according to claim 1, whereinthe second coupling elements have a top surface with a chamfered edgeand edges of the bottom surface of the essentially planar base thatdefine the perimeter of the first coupling elements are chamfered. 6.The parallelogram-shaped underlayment element according to claim 1,wherein a cross section of the top surface of the raised edge of anunderlayment element has a concave shape.
 7. The parallelogram-shapedunderlayment element according to claim 1, wherein the raised edge iswider at the top than at the bottom.
 8. The parallelogram-shapedunderlayment element according to claim 1, wherein a side of the raisededge facing away from the support surface leans forward.
 9. Theparallelogram-shaped underlayment element according to claim 1, whereinthe side of ends of the raised edge leans outwards.
 10. Theparallelogram-shaped underlayment element according to claim 1, whereinthe underlayment element is made resilient plastic.
 11. Theparallelogram-shaped underlayment element according to claim 1, whereinthe support surface has a shaped which is one selected from a groupcomprising: rhomboid, rectangle, rhombus and square.
 12. A method forlaying a modular surface covering system on a surface to be coveredcomprising: providing a multitude of parallelogram-shaped finishinglayer elements; providing a multitude of parallelogram-shapedunderlayment elements according to claim 1, placing a first underlaymentelement on the surface to be covered, placing a firstparallelogram-shaped finishing layer element on the support surface andwith two sides against the raised edge of the first underlaymentelement; coupling at least one first coupling element of a secondunderlayment element to corresponding second coupling elements the firstunderlayment element, causing the first parallelogram-shaped finishinglayer element to be clamped between the raised edge of the firstunderlayment element and the raised edge of the second underlaymentelement; placing a second parallelogram-shaped finishing layer elementon the support surface and width two sides against the raised edge ofthe second underlayment element; coupling at least one first couplingelement of a third underlayment element to corresponding second couplingelements the first underlayment element, causing the firstparallelogram-shaped finishing layer element to be clamped between theraised edge of the first underlayment element and the raised edge of thethird underlayment element; and, placing a third parallelogram-shapedfinishing layer element on the support surface and with two sidesagainst the raised edge of the third underlayment element.
 13. Themethod according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:coupling at least one first coupling element of a fourth underlaymentelement to corresponding second coupling elements of the secondunderlayment element and third underlayment element, causing the secondparallelogram-shaped finishing layer element to be clamped between theraised edge of the second underlayment element and the raised edge ofthe fourth underlayment element and causing the thirdparallelogram-shaped finishing layer element to be clamped between theraised edge of the third underlayment element and the raised edge of thefourth underlayment element; and, placing a fourth parallelogram-shapedfinishing layer element on the support surface and width two sidesagainst the raised edge of the fourth underlayment element.